Distance Inbetween
by Arcticwaters
Summary: She hissed desperately, “People are going to die, Rose. You, your family, my friends, my world, nothing’s safe.” Rose centric, with an animal guardian OC. Takes place during Hong Kong Longs.


**A/N: **I actually wrote this back in August, and I've had it in my head ever since I watched _Hong Kong Longs _a few months before then; but I've been nervous about publishing it, mostly because I've never written for the AD:JL community before. I've recently been watching a lot of AD:JL, so I finally decided to just get up and publish it x3 I lost count of how many times I've proof-read this, but I apologize for any errors in spelling and such.

Have you ever made up a character for a show, who takes place within the show's canon? Do you watch the show, and imagine what the character would be doing, how the show would change? That's how this story came along. My AD:JL OC is a shiba inu named Ayame, created to be Rose's animal guardian, and thus is good friends with her. The set "canon" of the "fanon world" Ayame would "live" in is different from the show's canon (meaning I'd alter it so Rose never leaves, but I won't go into that right now) but as I watched the season, I still thought about what would happen if Ayame was there in the show's set canon. And I determined that she'd go with Jake to meet Rose again, but won't let her go without a fight. So enjoy my own little "missing scene, fill in."

**Disclaimer: **_**American Dragon belongs to Disney; Ayame the shiba inu begins to me. **__See my DA page for a picture of her, and more information._ For those who'd like a little background right now though:  
- Though she considers herself to be Rose's animal guardian, she does not have her license yet.  
- Since she's a shiba inu, her native language is Japanese. She taught herself English, and went on to learn many other languages, including Spanish, French, German, and Elf.  
- She's very book savvy.  
- Indeed, "Ayame" means "Iris," and, if I'm to believe the site _Behind the Name_, "Hanako" means "flower child."  
- I haven't really thought of a "voice actor" for her yet, but I think Lucy Liu would fit her well.

* * *

_**Distance In-between**_

She'd slipped behind the ottoman as soon as she'd trotted into the room with her two human companions, the same one Jake had thrown his jacket on. Ayame was unable to speak yet - as she hadn't gotten permission - though she desperately wanted to tell Jake that they were _not alone_. She'd sensed it, and could smell it, but before she could even think of a way to warn her dragon friend, Rose's parents had been revealed, and the cops were dragging him away. She curled up tighter behind the furniture, lost and unsure of what to do, listening as Jake begged Rose to remember him. Just moments ago, the dog had been sure that their old friend would come back to them, but the effort proved to be futile….

"You have to help her!"

Her claws dug into the carpet as Jake's last cry hit her, before the door closed. Ayame realized that he'd known she was still there, and that request had been for her (because, logically, who else could he be talking to?) But if _he_ couldn't get Rose to remember - and they loved each other! - how could _she?_

No. No, there wasn't enough time to think like that. She was an animal guardian… well, not _officially_ yet, but she was in her mind and to her friends. She had to _try_.

She sat still, listening. Rose's parents were beginning to leave, mumbling to themselves before their footsteps disappeared… Rose was still at the door; was this a good sign? Was there some doubt lingering in her heart? It wasn't until she heard Rose begin to walk away that she decided to reveal herself, crawling halfway out from behind the ottoman and whimpering slightly to get the girl's attention. Rose looked back, and a concerned expression crossed her features.

"Oh no… you're still here?" she said gently. Ayame just stared at her in a mixture of nervousness (she still had no idea what she was going to do, and how to do it without scaring the girl) and joy at seeing her friend again for the first time in months. Rose had apparently interpreted her moment of pause as meaning "scared puppy" for she'd knelt down and was trying to coax the dog to her, "C'mon… it's okay, don't be scared…."

Ayame let out a whine, crawled out the rest of the way, and immediately rushed to the girl, throwing her paws on her shoulders and pressing her head against her neck in a dog-type hug. The sudden display of affection left Rose reasonably surprised, "Oh, you're very… affectionate, aren't you? It's okay, I won't hurt you…."

Ayame had started shaking, and Rose must still be thinking the dog was afraid, but that wasn't the case. She'd convinced herself months ago that she wouldn't see her friend again, that her special human, her _Hanako_, was gone and living the normal life she deserved. But here she was, holding and petting her again; everything about her was the same. The emotion had gotten to her, and she was trying not to cry, trying hard not to speak just yet.

She allowed Rose to push her back a bit, and their eyes met. A hand ran down the dog's back before moving up to cradle her head. "He said I knew you, said we were friends…" Rose said softly, and Ayame's ears perked. "But, that can't be, I've never seen a dog with purple eyes before…." Ayame sighed inwardly and resisted the urge to roll said purple eyes, while Rose examined the tag on the pink collar around her neck. "Hm… no address or number… just your name…. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with you."

The dog nudged up against her again, sighing out loud this time, and Rose went on, "I didn't mean to take your owner away from you…." Ayame tensed at the mention of Jake, realizing she didn't have much time to waste. Rose seemed to be talking more to herself now. "He seemed so nice, I just wanted to help him…. There had to be something wrong with him but…."

Ayame inhaled deeply and before Rose could go on, breathed out a light "_No…_"

Rose froze, staring down at the dog in shock, "Ex-excuse me?" she said almost dumbly.

"I said no." Part of her regretted this, didn't want to be the cause of ruining Rose's prefect picture, but she had to; they needed her. "See? I can talk. He wasn't lying."

Rose continued to stare at her in dumbfounded confusion, but Ayame went on, "Please don't scream, or yell, or…make any other loud outburst of shock, OK? I don't want to alert your parents." No response. The dog stepped back to speak to her properly. "You have to listen to me. Everything he said was true, something dangerous is happening to our world, and we need your help." Still no reply, and she sighed. "I know it's hard to believe, and I wish there was some other way, but please, you have to remember! Ro-… Oh, c'mon, say _something!_"

The girl looked at her intently for a few more seconds before laughing to herself. "The dog's talking. There's a dog _talking to me_. This _has _to be a dream."

"Shall I bite you just to check?" Ayame said dryly, though a light smirk was forming on her muzzle, to show she didn't mean that in a malicious way.

"Then I must be going _insane_, nothing else explains this." She started to get up, but the shiba inu blocked her path before she could leave.

"No, no, it's quite simple. I'm a magical creature, and I need you to help me."

Rose let out a groan and pressed a hand to her forehead. "This hasn't been my night."

"Tell me about it... Wait, _night?!_ Oh, gosh!" Ayame yelped, and rushed towards the window to look outside. "Oh, man, the eclipse has started… Oh, this isn't good. Rose!" She sharply turned back around to address the girl, who was too confused to move. "You have to remember _please_."

"I don't… I don't understand!" Rose cried, dropping to her knees. Ayame quickly ran back to her side, hushing her urgently. Alerting her parents would only complicate things.

"I'm sorry you're so confused, but you have to believe me…."

"OK, look," Rose placed her hands on the dog's shoulders, a bit roughly in her perplexed state, "let's play along and assume I'm _not_ going mad, and there _is_ some magical world, with talking dogs and dragons." Ayame nodded, raising an eyebrow. "I still don't understand what I could _possibly_ do to help you."

"Don't you remember what Jake said? You knew us once, you _fought _with us!"

"That _can't_ be possible, I don't know him _or _you."

"You did, you just can't remember, because... some things happened to change your fate. Please, you have to try and remember, and come with me-"

Rose pulled at her hair in frustration, "Ugh, you aren't making any sense! Why should I go with you? I'm not a-a _dragon slayer_. I can't help you." She started to get up and head for the door, possibly with the intent of throwing the dog out.

Ayame dug her claws into the carpet, muttering to herself in a variety of languages, her eyes squeezed tight. She opened them quickly and hissed desperately, "_People are going to die_, Rose. You, your family, my friends, my world, nothing's safe." This got the girl's attention, for she turned back around slowly, and Ayame went on, speaking calmly. "Please, we need you. We can't fight him alone, you're the only one who knows how to fight a dragon. I _know _you're confused, and I'm _sorry _to pull you away from this great life you have, but we need your help. _Please_."

As the dog spoke, the two began to walk towards each other, meeting halfway, and Rose dropped down to her knees again. "I wish I could help you, but….I'm just… I'm just a normal girl-"

"That's just it Rose, you're not." Ayame sighed, then nudged Rose's right hand. "You really think a mark like this is normal?"

Rose held her arm in her other hand, examining the mark. "Well what's your explanation for it then?"

"I can only assume it's magic, because that's the mark of the Huntsclan. And you were quite the little slayer, I might add."

Ayame couldn't tell if Rose was starting to believe her or not, but her lack of protest at least signaled that she was willing to listen. "If you're telling the truth, then why can't I remember?"

The dog hummed, "Alright, I'll tell you what happened. I won't go into the nitty gritty details, because with any luck, you'll remember them. See... the Huntsclan was about to make a move that would have destroyed the magical world, but you turned against them…. You cared too much about Jake. So… you betrayed the Clan and wished them out of existence…. You saved us."

"… I did that?"

The dog nodded. "And I'd like to thank you for it now, since I didn't get a chance to then."

"But…" Rose muttered thoughtfully, "you said I was a member…. Why am I still here?"

Ayame smiled sadly at her. "Because Jake didn't want to let you go. Remember what he said earlier? You were only a member because you were stolen from your parents... and he wished that had never happened. He gave you the normal life you always wanted."

"He… he did?" Rose's demeanor had gone solemn. "Y-yeah, he did mention that…."

"Try to remember him, sweetie." Ayame placed a paw on Rose's knee. "You were so important to each other. Please, Hanako_._"

Rose bit her lip, her eyes closed. Then she threw her arms around the dog. "I-I want to help you…. I feel like I can trust you." Her fingers gripped the dog's fur. "You seem… so familiar."

Ayame nuzzled her head against the girl's shoulder. "Was he?" No reply. "I know you felt it…. You had to, why else would you be so nice to someone you thought was crazy?"

"I… I don't…. _I can't remember_." Rose said, nearly whimpered. Ayame sighed, feeling rather hopeless. They were so close, she almost had it. She was about to beg Rose to try, when she caught sight of something red. The jacket Jake had left behind. And lying on top of it….

Her eyes widened and she pulled out of Rose's embrace. "Maybe…." She trotted over to the jacket, picking up the picture. An object that shouldn't exist. She walked back over to Rose, holding the photo out to her. "Maybe this will help."

Rose examined it, confused. "Wha-what is this?"

"That was taken at a school dance about a year ago. I can only assume Jake had it when he made his wish. It's not supposed to, but it still exists… and that's the timeline I know you from."

"B-but, wait a minute!" Rose said, her voice strained and desperate, giving the impression she was grasping at straws. "H-how do I know you didn't… 'magic' this up?"

Ayame gave a rather impish smirk. "That would mean you admit to believing in magic, and thus dragons, and thus, a lot of what Jake said."

Rose blinked at her, wide eyed and speechless. Her eyes drifted to the picture.

"He loved you, Rose." The dog said gently. "He really did."

Rose gave her a quick glance, before returning her attention to the photo; she stared at it, lost in the confusion of her own beliefs. Ayame lost track of how long she kept quiet, closely examining the details, probably trying to determine if it was real or not. Eventually, her eyes slowly began to widen; then, she squeezed them shut and brought her hand to her forehead as though she had a headache. She started to shake, which alarmed Ayame, and the dog nuzzled up against her for comfort.

She slowly calmed down, and was quiet; but before Ayame could pull away, the girl's arms were around her neck. "… I-Iris?"

The dog's eyes widened and she tensed. "Hanako?" Had that really worked?

"I'm sorry I forgot you." She hugged the dog tighter, and Ayame shifted to hug her back as best she could. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." Ayame said with a whimper, her tail wagging. "You're back, Hanako, that's all that matters." She pulled away to allow themselves to look at each other properly; she was thrilled to see the look of recognition in Rose's eyes. "That _baka _knew what he was talking about…. O-oh my gosh!" Ayame suddenly yelped and rushed back to the window again. Confused by her abrupt actions, Rose followed.

"What's wrong?"

"The eclipse! We-we-we…" she shook her head to calm herself, and started to push Rose to the door. "I'm sorry to cut the reunion short, but we have to get you to Victoria Peak, pronto."

"But wait," Rose moved out the way (causing Ayame to fall over) and picked the dog up. "I haven't seen you in such a long time, a-and it feels even longer! We have a lot to talk about-"

"Dear, when I said _pronto _I meant _quickly_." She said dryly, then preceded to list off the word "fast" in various languages, many of which Rose didn't think were human. "_Need I go on?!_ I'll explain the situation later, but _now_, you need to channel Huntsgirl. Jake needs you."

That seemed to be the push she needed. She put the shiba inu down, and thought for a moment, then went to her door and opened it saying, "Alright, meet me outside, OK? I need to take care of a few things, but I'll be there, I promise. Can you make it out of the building?"

"What are you-?"

"Just trust me."

Ayame stared at her for a second, then smiled. "I missed you." She left, and managed to navigate her way out of the complex.

---

Fifteen minutes later found the dog pacing nervously on the sidewalk. She didn't know how long she had spent in Rose's home, but she guessed that, maybe, they had an hour before the eclipse ended, two at best. And considering the fact that the only form of transportation they had was… by foot…. She had never actually _been _to Victoria Peak, so she had no idea how far away it was. Fu had said the temple would last "a couple hours" and she was sure the eclipse hadn't started that long ago, so maybe they had more time then she thought-

Her musing was cut short by Rose literally dropping in out of nowhere, and falling over on top of her.

"_Sorry_," Rose yelped, standing up quickly. "I'm kinda rusty."

"No worries…" Ayame wheezed, sitting up and shaking her head. "Good to know you're still stealthy." Her eyes widened slightly when she got a look at Rose's outfit; purple and black, and her hair was pulled back in a braid. Clearly a loose imitation of Huntsgirl.

"Do I look ok?" Rose asked awkwardly.

"You should definitely wear leather more often."

Rose gave her an odd look, along with a light smirk, but before she could say anything, the dog had raced off, calling back, "_Ven conmigo, s'il vous plaît_, Hanako!"

"Iris, wait!" She rushed after her pseudo-animal guardian, and easily caught up. "Tell me what's going on."

"Ok, here's the thing, the Dark Dragon kidnapped Lao Shi, and he's forcing Jake to give all the dragons a mind control potion - don't ask me why they'll all be together at once, I'll explain that part after all of this. But the most important detail here is, he hates humans and anyone who sides with them. I think you can figure out what will happen if we don't stop him." All the while, Ayame had her eyes trained on the moon. Her main focus now was to make it out of the urban area and into the open, where she'd be able to see Victoria Peak better.

"Ok… Where exactly do I fit in all this, again?"

"Dragons have never had to fight their kind before, so they don't know how to fight a dragon as well as a slayer. And you're the only slayer left."

"But I don't have my-"

"Hopefully, Spud and Trixie were able to handle that…. Jake was supposed to meet up with them with you, so I can only hope they're at the temple."

"Oh my gosh, Jake!" Rose suddenly yelped, stopping in her tracks. Ayame nearly fell over in her attempt to stop as well.

"What, what's wrong?" She panted.

"I-I sent Jake… he might not be there!" Was what Ayame could pick up in the mass of stuttering.

"Don't worry, sweetie, he's a dragon, remember?" The dog puffed. "Cops won't hold him down."

"Oh… I suppose…." She said, looking rather embarrassed at her panicking. "You alright?" She added at the dog's heavy breathing.

"I'm a bookworm, I don't run that much."

"Hm…" Rose looked around, and noticed the building next to them happened to have a fire escape. Her eyes narrowed and she smirked. Before Ayame could inquire about her thoughts, she'd grabbed the dog by the scruff, scaled the ladders, and reached the roof in a matter of seconds.

"Would this be faster?"

"I forgot you could do that…" the dog muttered, then shook her head. "Yeah yeah, so long as you don't drop me." Rose held her in her arms more securely, and she looked over the row of buildings. "There, see the tallest hill?"

"The Back of the Dragon."

"Good, you've heard of it. Have you been there?"

"No, but I think I know the way."

"Great. _Vayamos!_" Rose stared at her. "… That means _let's go!_"

"Sorry, I don't understand _everything_ you say." She preceded to leap from rooftop to rooftop. "I'm not even sure what you said earlier."

"I said… never mind." She kept her eyes on the moon. "I'm not sure how much longer we have, but it shouldn't take us _that_-"

Rose then stumbled and fell on top of Ayame again.

"… I won't do that again. _Promise_."

* * *

I would have liked for Ayame to have said more foreign sentences, especially Japanese or Chinese, but I can never find a trust worthy translator. The few words here were from Dictionary(dot)com, and one from a Spanish high school class book.

_Random useless fact number 1_: I had both Jonatha Brooke and Jesse McCartney's versions of _I'll Try _(from _Return to Neverland_) on repeat while writing a good portion of this.  
_Random useless fact number 2_: I adore Rose, and I think she looks awesome in the second season style; and Mae Whitman does a great job, I love her voice. I thought she was just _adorable_ in HKL. I actually had an easier time writing her pre-memories then post. I would like to write more about these two, such as when they first met and the various bonding moments between them.


End file.
